Experiences of a teacher of English

In a lesson of a second or foreign language, like English in my case, communication in that language is paramount.  We teachers have to teach that language, but it is for utilizing it, also in the classroom. Otherwise our dear students will not learn and acquire it, or so slowly.  Nevertheless, if we have teens or adults as students, also we can sometimes focus on a grammar or lexis point. Yes, because those students are already capable of dealing with abstract points. And often when we focus on those abstract points we can arouse our students’ interest and eventually boost their learning the language.  Also because they, when learning the tongue, actually focus on those points and make up theories about them. That’s something I’ve noticed in my classes with adults.  Anyway, I insist on purpose: the main thing in a language lesson is communication, communication, communication. We teachers will not stop too much on teaching language facts, but will p...

In a classroom there must be peace. In that peace the students can grow up without stridencies. And adults can develop their skills and also their personalities.  That personality is something we’re continuously developing.  Also the teacher grows up or develops his personality each day, every single day. Every single day he can better as a person and as a teacher. We refer to someone’s career as a teacher.  That teacher must have control and management of the students’ behavior. Well, more than management is rather something like helping them grow up as persons.  And that peace and good atmosphere are only possible if that teacher has benevolence love toward his students. He seeks what is good for his students, for these ones to grow up as persons with a happy life, now and in their future. Anyway, we must always remember that we reach happiness with God our Father.  The teacher’s profession is a service one: he devotes his better times to ...

An adult can be a gold mine of sources for learning a language, like English.  He can face up learning and acquiring that language in a great way. He’s a person with perhaps a lot of rich experiences. I teach adults these last years, and they’re great at learning.  They can take up habits that are crucial for learning, and discard others that do not work. They can reflect upon their learning, more than young kids, who don’t have abstract thinking. They’re like teachers themselves. That does not mean they don’t need extra help from a teacher. Just also they do not leave all the teaching/learning process upon their teacher’s back.  They are resourceful. Or they may be. They carry a load of experiences to the classroom. Also they may have strong perseverance attitudes. They’re great. Demanding, though, very much indeed.  They have learning strategies. And they apply them to everyday learning. They’re fantastic students, or they may be. They take lots of...

I appreciate committed teachers. They’re the protagonists of schools. Together with their dear students.  They promote those students and boost them as learners and as persons themselves. They’re boosting their nation as well.  However, some of those teachers look worried and uneasy. I would tell them, Enjoy teaching! It’s what you’ve got to do in the classroom. Not as a selfish seeking of some insane pride, but for the school community, and the families as well, of course. Come on, enjoy teaching!, I would tell them. When we try and do our best for other people, we likely become happy. Although we'll be happy with God our Father's help. Something else for today. It seems sound and sensible to daily think of the classes we teach – the classes of students I mean. Maybe when planning lessons, we may think of a single thing we have to try those students should better and improve.  Let’s think of those classes, every day, from the air, looking over, thinking ...

Reading both fiction and non-fiction books may be so good to learn new vocabulary of the language you’re learning.  By reading you can learn quite many new words, but they need practice to get those words learned and memorized.  It is not necessary you look up every single new word in the dictionary. Only from time to time or when the meaning of the text cannot be understood by you. Enjoy reading! As well quite many words are not only learned but also acquired or gotten in an unaware way, and they pop up when writing or speaking in that language.  Over time you get the language sense: you have a nice background to guess and know intuitively some other language aspects. In that case you kind of feel the language: you know that native speakers say things in that way and not other. You have the language sense when you’re capable to understand (both by listening and by reading), speak and write in that tongue with enough fluency.  Only after some yea...

Teachers, we teachers, have to be creative, no doubt. However, we cannot be creative all day long. Routines also are good for our students. Otherwise if we seek to be creative for the whole day, we drive ourselves crazy or kind of that.  There should be peace in the classroom, as a marvelous fruit of our interior peace, both the teacher’s and the students’.  Our dear students have to work nice in a quiet way, while recording what we teach them or what they’re reading from their iPads or books otherwise. While reading, our students are putting in a great deal of knowledge.  I’ve met some teachers, ones of young kids above all, but also of teens, who even used to speak in a rather low volume to their students. Thus they didn’t have to shout at their students to be silent.  How did they achieve this peace? Through experience, commitment and dedication. Any teacher can accomplish this – let’s be patient.  Our students do need routines in the...